Nascar: Balance By Legislation

DAYTONA BEACH — If the National Football League were governed like Grand National racing, the Miami Dolphins never could have finished their 1972 season with a perfect 17-0 record.

Big, bruising Larry Csonka, the fullback who gave Miami a distinct advantage over everyone else, would have been outlawed by midseason.

Like no other sport, stock car racing prides itself on parity, close finishes and last-lap suspense. When Bill Elliott upset that philosophy by winning seven of nine superspeedway races in overpowering fashion, a midseason rules change was inevitable.

As strange as it sounds, changing the rules in the middle of the game is a fact of life in Grand National racing.

''That's just the way it has always been,'' Richard Petty said. ''It's no use even hollering about it.''

Beginning with Thursday's Firecracker 400, NASCAR, the governing body, has reduced the carburetor throttle bore opening on all engines by one-quarter inch, thereby reducing horsepower and slightly slowing the cars.

Although officals say publicly that the rules change was not aimed at Elliott, privately they admit that it was made to try to balance the competition.

By slowing the cars from the 203- to 205-mph range to the 198- to 200-mph range, there will be more passing and more racing because of better handling. Even though it will slow all cars equally, the hope is that Elliott's team may lose the distinct advantage it has over everyone else.

Over the winter, Ernie Elliott, brother and engine builder for Bill Elliott, discovered a secret that no one else has found. He could make his Thunderbird go faster than anyone else's.

Although the Elliotts initially protested the rules change and car owner Harry Melling threatened a possible lawsuit, that talk has cooled and the Elliotts have gone back to work.

''There's nothing we can do about it now,'' Bill Elliott said. ''And since it was an across-the-board deal, it's hard to say whether it was directed at me.''

In its history, NASCAR has averaged a half-dozen rules changes per year. Some significant, some not. This is the third this season. The reason this change has become such an issue is that a tobacco company has offered a $1 million bonus to any driver who wins three of the four major races. Elliott already has won the Daytona 500 and the Winston 500. Darrell Waltrip won the World 600. Elliott can win the million with a victory in the Southern 500 in September.

Elliott is not the first driver to protest a rules change. And he won't be the last.

Bobby Allison brought a perfectly legal Pontiac Grand LeMans to the 1981 Daytona 500. He had outfoxed the competition with a car that no one else had. After a day of practice in which he was clearly faster than anyone else, NASCAR decided it would slow him down by changing the height of his spoiler.

Allison protested vehemently. He still led most of the race but lost at the end to Petty. The following week, NASCAR reduced his spoiler even more, further reducing the handling of his car. He then abandoned the car.

''I still think they were wrong then, singling out one car,'' Allison said. ''If they would have done something directly to Elliott's car, that would have been wrong, too. But an across-the-board change like this one, I don't have any problem with that.''

In 1970, with Chrysler products dominating races, NASCAR changed the carburetor rules to balance the competition. For example, Bobby Isaacs won the pole at Talladega's early-season race at 199.658 mph. After the change, he won the pole at Talladega's second race, but at 186.834 mph.

In the early '70s, NASCAR repeatedly changed restrictor plates on carburetors. Each model car had a different size plate and each was changed more than once.

In one eight-week stretch during 1974, six changes were made. Each time someone hollered foul.

''They do what they've got to do to keep it close,'' Petty said. ''But we always seem to bounce back.''

After the 1964 season, NASCAR outlawed the big ''hemi'' engine Petty was using in his Chrysler. Because of that, Petty sat out the first half of 1965. NASCAR maintains it needs to change its rules to keep rapidly changing technology from knocking competition out of balance.

''Every time there has been changes made, we always find a way to work the speeds back up,'' Elliott said. ''Sometimes it takes time; sometimes it happens quickly.''

Earlier this season, NASCAR altered car heights. Previously, Chevys could be no lower than 51 inches and Fords no lower than 50. The new rule was 50 1/2 inches for all. Elliott responded with a qualifying-record 209.243 mph.

''Contrary to what everyone's thinking, NASCAR is not trying to legislate against the Elliotts,'' said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for administration. ''All we're trying to do is maintain a balance of competition.''